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After complaints from unsuspecting cellphone users and the very vocal Senator Chuck Schumer, the Federal Trade Commission is suing the telemarketing companies responsible for billions of robocalls selling auto warranty extensions. The Wall Street Journal reports, "In two related complaints filed in federal court on Thursday, the FTC said it was taking action against the promoter of the phony extended auto warranties, as well as the telemarketing company that it hired to carry out its allegedly illegal campaign. The FTC filed complaints against four companies and a handful of individuals related to their operations." FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said, "This is one of the most aggressive telemarketing schemes the FTC has ever encountered. not sure which is worse, the abusive telemarketing tactics of these companies, or the way they try to deceive people once they get them on the phone. Either way, we intend to shut them down.” The FTC also noted that even 911 dispatchers get these calls!
Finally: FTC Sues Robocalling Telemarketers
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Those Mariachi guys piss me off when you enter a mostly silent subway car.
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Yay!
"This is your second notice. Your robo-call campaign is about to expire."
This is long overdue, but the circumstances make me angry: It appears that the FTC is only taking action because Chuck Schumer himself got a robocall. To me this says that companies can break the law with impunity, as long as they don't annoy a VIP.
I'm going to miss stringing them along for the "7 fords" I own that are out of warranty.
It is a shame that no action is being taken on the two most annoying kinds - the "charity" calls and the political calls. Those are the worst!
Political annoyance calls are safe as long as politicians control the policy.
The only way to truly control who calls you is to disconnect the phone...
Neither charities no politicians have ever called my cell phone, where I get these warranty calls regularly. Also, either of those will stop calling you if you tell them not to call. That has no effect at all with the warranty calls.
...send a dollar to Happy Dude.
It's sad how the workers answering the phones when you speak to a live agent probably knew they're scamming people. Or maybe they don't know?
Why would they care? They're getting paid! And there is probably a bonus for the live agent who scams the most people in a month.
"It appears that the FTC is only taking action because Chuck Schumer himself got a robocall."
Probably more likely: Schumer knew that the FTC was about to file the long-planned suits, so made his well-timed "demand" to capitalize on it.
Obviously since his statement was made on Sunday and the FTC filed suits on Thursday, they didn't suddenly leap to action and start investigating because Schumer demanded that they do it.
But Senator we're providing a valuable service for America. People look forward to our robocalls and are always excited by the products and services we offer.
Now if he'll stop the douchebags who send unwanted sales solicitations via FAX. Every day I get about a half dozen of these, using my paper & my toner. Call the "remove my number" line, and nothing happens. The creeps keep on sending their crap.
Fax spam is easier to deal with, because in order for it to be effective they have to give you their real phone number or address. You can then file a complaint, where with these warranty calls the caller ID is spoofed so any complaint you file won't accurately identify the company.
http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/unwantedfaxes.html
There's a link to an online complaint form (for any kind of FCC-regulated issue, including unwanted faxes) near the bottom of that page.
As I believe someone mentioned here before, I actually listened to the end of one of the calls recently.
At the end it said "press 2 to be removed", I pressed 2 and haven't received a call from then since.
Worth trying while they sort this nonsense out.
You've been lucky. Thousands of people all over the Web have said they've done that and still get called.
Don't know how long ago you've gone without being called, but I've had gaps of three weeks or so before again beginning to be blitzed.
Part of the problem is that there isn't just one company doing this. Even if you did happen to be called by one that accepts the removal request, another will call eventually. Or the same company might, when they go back to incremental dialing to refresh/rebuild their calling list.
All pressing 2 does is tell them they have called a valid number.
But...if they shut down the telemarketers, how will the folks in rural Kentucky be able to afford used child safety seats?
It's not just auto warranties. I think they are the same people with a credit card scam. The robocall sounds exactly the same. "This is your last chance to reduce your credit card payments." I wish it were my last chance.